Yes Prime Minister

Copyright : Mosaic | Reviewed by : Ritchardo

Based on the hit BBC comedy of the same name, Yes Prime Minister aimed to give fans the opportunity of taking control of the country?s hapless Prime Minister Jim Hacker and steering him through a number of political problems and dilemmas through the course of one week.

Can you overcome those advisors around you, led by the seemingly omnipotent Sir Humphrey and do what is right in the eyes of the most important people to any politician - the voters?

Graphics

Upon loading and starting the game you?ll find yourself in a brightly coloured and well-drawn office interior that forms the basis of your game. A disembodied hand is your pointer as you click on a number of objects that lead in to submenus or display letters/polls.

Occasionally one of your phones or teleprinter may start flashing and you have to click on it before it ends to answer the call.

The rest of the game is a more text based affair as you enter into conversations with ministers and Sir Humphrey over matters of international importance and matters of complete irrelevance! The only graphics available in these sections are digitised pictures of the three main characters (Jim, Humphrey and your PA Bernard) all of which are very well rendered pictures of the original actors which changes to indicate who is speaking.

Sound

No music plays in this game, which is a pity (a version of the theme tune would?ve been nice on the menu) but it does have a few sound effects - most notably the telephone, intercom and teleprinter which can catch you unaware if looking at something else.

Gameplay

A game that is very hard to categorise, YPM is nonetheless fun to play and has enough variety to ensure multiple plays.

Although a number of core incidents and meetings do occur, there is also a large of other problems and things that can crop up from time to time and this means, unlike text adventures, it?s impossible to predict exactly what is going to happen and when.

The game is also extremely faithful to the comedy of the TV series (which then British PM Margaret Thatcher claimed was her favourite programme on TV) and has captured the characters of Jim, Bernard and Humphrey perfectly.